Mil Hdbk 516

MIL-HDBK-516C — Airworthiness Certification Criteria

Source: DoD MIL-HDBK-516C (US Government work, public domain; Distribution Statement A) | Chapters: 8

When to use

Use this pack when building or reviewing a DoD air system airworthiness certification basis from MIL-HDBK-516C — tailoring qualitative criteria, assigning methods of compliance, and navigating domain criteria clusters (SE, structures, flight, propulsion, avionics/E3, software, crew systems). Helpful for airworthiness engineers, SE leads, and domain SMEs aligning evidence to criteria.

Prerequisites: none — plain Markdown; no MCP server, API key, or licence tier needed at runtime.

How to Use This Skill

• Without arguments — load the core frameworks below.
• With a topic — ask about certification basis tailoring, SE criteria, structures, flight, propulsion, avionics/E3, software, or crew systems.
• With a chapter — ask for ch01 through ch08.

Supporting files: glossary.md, patterns.md, cheatsheet.md.

Guidance only. 516C says it is not to be cited as a requirement. Criteria are qualitative; define acceptable in the implementing context.

Core Frameworks & Mental Models

Certification basis via tailoring

Select a necessary and sufficient subset of 516C criteria for the specific air system; document methods of compliance; maintain under configuration control.

Qualitative criteria plus evidence

Each section states criteria and often lists typical certification source data (analyses, tests, inspections). Closure is a reasoned evidence argument, not a single signature.

SE backbone then domains

Systems engineering criteria (design criteria, tools, materials, manufacturing/quality, tech data, CM) underpin domain sections.

Domain clusters in this pack

Structures; flight technology; propulsion plus installation; diagnostics/avionics/electrical/E3; computer systems/software; crew systems (including UAS/ROA control-station elements when applicable).

UAS applicability

Avionics and crew-systems material explicitly contemplates unmanned/remotely operated control segments where they affect airworthiness.

Chapter Index

Topic Index

• Airworthiness authority / implementing office → ch01
• Avionics → ch06
• Certification basis → ch01
• Certification source data lists → ch02–ch08
• Configuration management (airworthiness) → ch02
• Crew station / HMI → ch08
• Diagnostics → ch06
• E3 / EMI/EMC airworthiness → ch06
• Electrical power system → ch06
• Escape / life support / crash survivability → ch08
• Flight technology / flying qualities → ch04
• Materials selection (SE) → ch02
• Methods of compliance → ch01
• Propulsion installation → ch05
• Software airworthiness → ch07
• Structures / damage tolerance framing → ch03
• Tailoring rules → ch01
• UAS/ROA control station → ch06, ch08

Supporting Files

• glossary.md — airworthiness terms used in 516C packing
• patterns.md — implementation patterns with When/How/Trade-offs
• cheatsheet.md — decision rules, maps, tells & smells

Scope & Limits

This pack covers selected MIL-HDBK-516C (12 Dec 2014) material: scope/tailoring, systems engineering, and major functional-area clusters (structures, flight, propulsion, avionics/electrical/E3/diagnostics, software, crew systems). Extraction metadata reports 527 PDF pages for the everyspec mirror copy used at build (build-sheet estimate ~320; PDF page objects differ — body text and DIST-A verified; chars/page floor passed). Not every handbook subsection is chaptered (for example armaments, passenger safety, materials-as-own-chapter, air transportability). Does not reproduce full criterion text catalogs or third-party FAA/SAE standards. Guidance only. US Government public domain work (Distribution Statement A). No source-material download link is published.